Barathen Wrynn
King Barathen Wrynn, also known as Barathen the Adamant was the ruler of the Kingdom of Azeroth in the years before the orcs appeared on Azeroth. He died two decades before their arrival, his son, Prince Llane Wrynn taking the crown. He is credited with leading Azeroth through one of the most troubling periods of their history pre-Dark Portal, having led them through the Gnoll War, the Gurubashi War, and is responsible for the poorly conducted Stormwind Bear War. The Gnoll War 75 years prior to the First War, the Kingdom of Azeroth was threatened by the numerous gnoll packs that had began launching raids against caravans, villages and farmsteads. Though Stormwind sent knights to keep the gnolls in check, the threat remained, eventually spiraling out of control. Under King Barathen's rule, Garfang of the Redridge pack conquered the gnoll tribes of Azeroth and launched an attack on Stormwind City, beginning what would later be known as the Gnoll War. Though Barathen sought the aid of the other human kingdoms, he received none and decided to take matters in his own hands. With a party of knights, the king rode into the Redridge Mountains during one of the gnolls' assaults on the city, expecting Garfang to have sent all his troops without entering the fray himself. Taking the fight to the packlord and his personal guards, he and his knights fought for a full day and night until Barathen personally slew Garfang. Though half of his knights had been killed in action, Barathen's bold plan had paid off, as without a unified leader the gnoll packs turned to infighting, eventually losing so many that they could no longer continue pushing into human lands. Barathen followed up by rallying the Stormwind Army and pushing into the Redridge Mountains, resulting in the decimation of the gnoll clans. Though small packs survive in the present day, the gnolls have never posed an actual threat to Stormwind since the end of the Gnoll War. Barathen, now named "the Adamant", returned to Stormwind where he was celebrated as a hero. The birth of his son Llane was declared to be a time of festivity by Barathen, who gave each citizen of Stormwind a single gold sovereign to mark the occasion. When Medivh later fell into a coma, he agreed to put the young boy in the care of the Clerics of Northshire. The Gurubashi War Around 50 years after the Gnoll War, 21 years prior to the First War, Stormwind had began to expand southward into the Stranglethorn Vale, beginning a series of conflicts with the Gurubashi tribe. King Barathen had ordered the Stormwind Army to take defensive measures without counter-attacking the trolls, wishing to avoid a war with them. This was heavily criticized by his son, Prince Llane, who wished to teach the trolls a lesson by invading their territory. Barathen's tactics worked for a time, though eventually a troll warband sneaked past his patrols and razed three towns in Westfall, butchering its citizens. Despite Llane challenging him and his tactics, he ordered the bolstering of the army but only to strengthen its patrol routes. Furious and humiliated, Llane took his friends, Anduin Lothar and Medivh, to secretly launch a surprise attack on the trolls in Stranglethorn, slaying the leader of the Gurubashi, Jok'non. However, while the resulting battle involved the full might of Medivh being unleashed on them and thus there were no witnesses left, the trolls quickly figured out who was responsible and rallied under Jok'non's son, Zan'non, who led them to war against Stormwind. With the powers of blood magic taught to him by his father, Zan'non empowered a few trolls and turned them into raging berserkers during their siege of Stormwind City, and their massive numbers terrorized the soldiers of the Stormwind Army. Knowing that it would take a miracle to break the troll siege, King Barathen stormed the troll ranks along with his personal guard in a desperate assault to kill the Gurubashi warlord. Though he came very close to succeeding, the odds were heavily stacked against him and he was killed in battle. The day was saved when his son convinced Medivh to use his powers once more to devastate the troll army, resulting in the deaths of the majority of the trolls and their leaders and ultimately saving Stormwind. Llane was crowned shortly after the battle. References Adapted from Wowpedia. Category:Characters Category:Human Category:House of Wrynn Category:Deceased Category:Saint Category:Stormwindian